Catholic Sisters Honored for their Work With Migrants on the U.S.-Mexico Border

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Annunciation House in El Paso, Texas gave its Voice of the Voiceless award this year to the Roman Catholic Women Religious of the United States and Mexico. Among them are our Assumption Sisters in Chaparral, New Mexico. Thank you, Sisters, for your life and mission among our migrant brothers and sisters. The award is well-deserved!

This year's Voice of the Voiceless award, bestowed annually by El Paso's Annunciation House to an outstanding advocate for migrants, honored the Roman Catholic Women Religious of the United States and Mexico. And what a wonderful evening April 13 was! I've attended almost all of the Voice of the Voiceless events, and this one was my favorite.

The sisters brought their joy and energy and powerful witness to the weekend, and you could feel all these emotions brimming over by the end of the night. The photo that Beth Riehle contributed documents almost all of the sisters who attended, all gathered at the conclusion of the event. They were so full of excitement and happiness by the night's end that it was almost impossible to corral them for a moment for the photo!

The sisters recognition was well-deserved for their tireless witness and work with immigrants and the poor. Sister Mary Hughes, OP, the 2010 president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, and Sister Maria Dolores Palencia, past president of the Mexican Conference of Major Superiors of Men and Women, accepted the award on behalf of all their sisters.

Many women religious of the US-Mexico border area of El Paso, Juarez and Las Cruces are vital participants of Border Women. We are proud of the work they do and the personal and communal contributions they make on behalf of the most vulnerable in our border community.